More from Year in Review

Best Places to Work: Google

As part of Crain's Best Places to Work in Chicago feature, we take you on a tour of the Chicago Googleplex. Get an insider's look at white boards, video games, free food and hard work. Spend a day with Google engineers and learn how Google fosters the creative environment that has made it the best place to work in Chicago.

Coskata's clean-energy crusade

The entrepreneurs at Coskata have what most entrepreneurs only dream of: $80 million in funding, big corporate backers and a technology that could change the world, in the form of a bug that exhales fuel-grade ethanol.

30 years on State Street

When Crain's debuted in 1978, State Street was home to ramshackle retailers and gentlemen's clubs. Today, it's an actual neighborhood, with shopping, dining and even college-student residents. Join us on a video juxtaposition between State Street, then and now.

Super Bowl commercials

The Chicago office of ad agency DDB Worldwide is on remarkable Super Bowl run: for nine years running, DDB has produced the top-rated game-day commercial, all in the name of big-beer brands Budweiser and Bud Light.

Foreclosures in the Austin area

Aftereffects of subprime lending binge cripple communities across the Chicago area. Austin is one of the hardest hit areas. More foreclosures are coming as adjustable-rate mortgages continue to reset higher than homeowners can afford to pay.

Restaurant critics wildcard favorites

Our critics name their best of the best for both formal steakhouse dining and casual lunches downtown. Wildcard favorites. Laura Bianchi recommends Hannah's Bretzel and Alison Neumer Lara enjoys Spa Cafe.

Pinball wizard

Boeing sold more planes, McDonald's sold more burgers, but only one satisfied investors Comcast or AT&T for your TV and before Golden Tee, there was pinball. Lisa goes behind the scenes of the last pinball-machine factory.